The peanut butter debacle of 2007 is said to have cost parent company ConAgra $78 million to deal with $1 billion worth of potentially Salmonella-contaminated product. And while many significant strides have been made in the last decade to prevent occurrences of this magnitude, companies in the food manufacturing business still experience brand-damaging recalls -- some with resounding impacts on both the company and the industry at large.

A food recall can be a manufacturing company’s worst nightmare. In fact, it’s one of the most dreaded possibilities for food safety managers everywhere. That’s because one food recall has the potential to bring your brand to its knees. In response to a recall, consumers may change their purchasing, food preparation and consumption practices, or they may avoid the product for months or years after the recall has ended. Your customers want to know that the products they’re buying are safe, and a single breach in that trust can have rippling effects that completely deteriorate your brand. Once the news of a recall hits the public, it can become a storm of bad press that turns customers away.

The recall process in the food manufacturing industry is a highly stressful and expensive one, not to mention the irreparable damage that can be done to your brand. The public has become much more informed and discerning when it comes to food safety issues, which means you must be implementing the most careful processes to prevent contamination in your products. A crucial component of these efforts is having an effective food supplier verification program in place.

The FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is rolling out to companies large and small, and with the new compliance mandates comes greater responsibility on the part of food processors and manufacturers. It’s big news in the industry, and hopefully you’ve implemented the requisite plans and procedures to meet the evolving demands of proactive food safety. But does FSMA compliance mean you’ve significantly lowered the risk of a food recall?